Ross and fourteen guests just sat down to a Thanksgiving turkey dinner in their home in Austin when the telephone rang.

Ross got up and answered the phone.

“Hello?” said Ross.

“Hello, Ross. This is Louie.”

Ross hesitated because he wasn’t exactly sure who Louie was.

Louie, sensing the hesitation said, “It’s Louie Lanfree, your cabin caretaker down here in Maine. Been workin’ for you for three winters.”

“Oh, hi, Louie, sorry, we’re just sitting down to our Thanksgiving dinner with a table full of guests. What can I do for you?”

There was a pause.

“Well, Ross,” said Louie, “um, I’m not sure exactly what to say, or how to say this except just by sayin’ it.” Pause. “I drove over to check on your cabin today, and, ah, your cabin’s gone. It just ain’t there no more.”

“Oh, geeze, Louie, I should have told you. I forgot to tell you. I had it torn down.”

“Well,” said Louie, “when I got there, it was missing, so I drove on up the hill to the next cabin, to make sure I was in the right spot, turned around and drove back down the hill and stopped, and sat there wondering just how and when to tell somebody that their cabin is gone. Drove home. Told the missus. She said, ‘There’s no good time for bad news.’”